Deke of the Week 8 – Toe Drag

In the latest deke of the week (or month :P) we bring you the toe drag. The toe drag is a very effective move IF you can master it. This is one of those moves that you don’t want to try in a game unless you have done it flawlessly 10 times in a row during practice. The first video shows you the deke of the week version with in-game scenarios, and the second video is our “how to toe drag” video that we shot last year. (If you are from the United States of Amurica remember, it’s called the toe drag, not a curl and drag)

On Ice Toe Drag Video

How To Toe Drag

Tips for performing the toe drag

You have to practice this move a lot before you can master it, I recommend using a nice smooth surface like the roll-up shooting pad and a puck instead of a ball, for the most ice-like feel try a shooting pad and the green biscuit

If practicing at home or on the ice start with a wall behind you, that way if you miss the puck you don’t have to go and get it each time

When gripping the stick with your top hand loosen your grip while rolling the blade over and let it fall into your fingertips. Hold it in your finger-tips while you start to pull the puck back, then while pulling the puck back and catching the puck tighten your grip and hold the stick in your top hand how you normally would

Practice pushing the puck out and toe-dragging back in on your side and in front of you.

During the game try toe-dragging the puck in towards your feet, that way if you don’t catch it, or a defender knocks the puck off of your stick you still have the option of kicking it up to your stick with your feet

The trickiest part to learn is actually catching the puck after you drag it back with your toe, you need to quickly roll the blade over and catch the puck, if you practice a lot you will get it!

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Hi my name is Jeremy Rupke. My goal is to break every hockey skill down into easy to understand articles and videos. I explain everything step-by-step to help others improve. I'm active on Instagram, Facebook and more, you can follow through the links above.
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I made a way of doing it so when you’ve been toe dragging for a long time in a game and the defense catches on and knows your gonna toe drag, you do it but this time in the middle of pushing it back you quickly move it forward, going around the defense

Hey Jeremy say thank you! Last week we had a game in kawartha and we beat them 10-7 I was so hyped about that and I was bolting around then rink I couldn’t shut up to my teammates because I was so excited it was awesome!

Thanks Jeremy – awesome tips here!
Not sure if this is possible, but it would be sweet if you could show some of these in slow-mo. You pull them off pretty fast and sometimes it is hard to see what is going on.

Nice video and tips. I’ve watched your previous toe drag a million times (love it) and it has helped me.
But this is really helpful to because I get to see you do in action, especially your footwork.
I always wondered about the footwork part.
Thanks!

Thanks Ryan, one of my friends has the toe drag perfected, it’s even smoother than mine and I noticed he usually pulls the puck towards his feet which is usually what I try as well. That way if you mess up you can just recover the puck by kicking it up to your stick again. Also you can protect the puck with your skates so it’s even harder for the opposing player to get it from you.

I’ve performed the toe drag more in the past two weeks than ever before after watching this clip. I practiced it, but i never used the correct technique. My technique still needs more fine tuning, but i have reached the point where i can use it in games with success. Thanks Jeremy